


It Could Be Weird (But I Think I'm Into It)

by AbeTheDadtm



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Angst, Character Study, Communication, Compersion, Edgeplay, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Light Dom/sub, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Sex Education, Smut, Soft Family Interactions, adhd!Beauregard, adhd!Mollymauk Tealeaf, autistic!Beauregard, autistic!Caleb Widogast, autistic!Fjord, autistic!Nott, genderfluid!Mollymauk Tealeaf, trans!Caleb Widogast, trans!Nott
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-06-11 12:42:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15315747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbeTheDadtm/pseuds/AbeTheDadtm
Summary: Nott convinces Caleb to find some roommates. Meanwhile, Beau finds a new girlfriend in Yasha and bring her into her polycule with Jester and Fjord. Fjord gets a crush on Mollymauk, Yasha's best friend, while Jester tries to bring him into the group. When Caleb invites them to move in, he ends up with a big family, lots of feelings, and some new experiences.





	1. It Could Be Weird (But I Think I'm Into It)

**Author's Note:**

> In which Nott finally convinces Caleb to get some new roommates.

“No,” Caleb said, breaking his focus from the spell with a sigh. “Absolutely not. Also, what did I say about coming in while I'm working?”

“Sorry, sorry,” Nott muttered, looking suddenly sad and dejected.

Caleb sighed and looked down at the keys in the center of the spell circle. “No, no. It was being stubborn, anyways.” He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “I need better incense. This brand isn't working.” That's what you get when you get incense from a gas station.

Nott looked up at his desk, standing on tiptoe to do so. It was messy, covered in crystals and chalk and spell books. The incense burnt steadily, making the room smell strongly of cheap nag champa. “Another protection spell?” Nott asked.

“No, returning,” Caleb corrected. He got up and stretched his back. His old, argyle sweater rode up, revealing more of the embroidered design on the tunic underneath. He had embroidered the sigils himself, with orange and green threads forming almost floral shapes over the brown fabric. They were for blessings, luck, happiness. But he didn't feel happy. He was unshaven, pale. He hadn't been eating much outside of green tea and microwaved meals, and he hadn't showered since last week. Nott crossed her arms as she looked up at Caleb. He caught her glare and sighed. “Plead your case, Nott.”

Nott straightened. Her pointed ears perked up sharply as she looked up at Caleb. “You have been working too much, Caleb. You need more socializing; more friends. Your therapist said you need friends, right?”

“Ja, that’s true.” Caleb grabbed his mug and chugged the remaining tea. It was cold by now and badly over-steeped.

“Besides, since you work all the time, you can't always take care of me. What if I needed help with homework and you were busy? Who would help me then?”

“I don't work all the time,” Caleb said, setting down the cup.

“Yeah, but you do it a lot. You don't have enough time to clean everything and cook for me and help me with homework all the time--”

“Nott. You don't need help with homework. You're ahead of the rest of your class.”

“But if I needed help, you'd probably be busy... you know what, that's not the point.” Nott shook her head. “I'm lonely. You're lonely. As much as I don't miss the craziness and the loud, I miss having a family. And I know you miss it, too.”

Caleb sighed. She wasn't lying. Nott’s family group was always busy, constantly chaotic, too big for their tiny apartment, and always overwhelming them. But they made damn good dinners and always gave kisses goodbye or good night. And, as much as they messed up, damn it, they tried. Nott tried too, and so did Caleb, but it wasn't the same.

“Fine,” Caleb said. “Fine. Get the laptop; let's find some roommates.”


	2. You're My Sunshine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jester finds a new home for her boyfriend and girlfriend.
> 
> (Also quick note to clear up things: in this fic, goblins age closer to the speed of humans, so Nott is in elementary school and is around eight or nine. She's less of a tiny human with few life experiences and more of a child prodigy.)

The shower water might've been freezing and sputtering, but if Beau didn't shower before Jester realized she was home, she'd never hear the end of it. Last time Beau came home from work without immediately jumping into the shower, Jester called her Stinky Beau-Beau for a fucking week.

Then she heard the familiar stomping outside, leading out from her and Jester’s room and towards the bathroom. Without a knock, the door swung open and Jester's chirpy voice yelled, “Beau, look, I found a condo for really cheap! It's in a nice part of the city, and the owner seems really nice--”

“For fuck's sake, Jester,” Beau said, rinsing out the last bit of shampoo out of her hair and turning off the shower. Beau never minded Jester seeing her naked, but her girlfriend never knocked and Beau was in the middle of something. Still, Beau stepped out of the shower and grabbed her towel as Jester leaned against her and showed her the pictures on her phone. The touch of her warm skin against Beau's cold and still wet shoulder made her cheeks flare with warmth against the cold of their apartment.

Behind the badly shattered screen, Beau could make out pictures of a nice, large condo. The rooms were messy, but the furniture was nice, almost expensive looking. “They're open to lower rent prices because money isn't an object. The only people living there are a guy and his kid or whatever and he works a lot so he wants someone who can help around the house and just be there as a nice family. I mean, I can do that while you and Fjord are at work or school. But there is a cat living there so Fjord’s gonna not like it but it's so cheap and it's in a nice part of the city right across the street from a bakery, and--”

“Jester!” Beau exclaimed, wrapping her arm around Jester's shoulders. “Relax, okay? We'll talk to Fjord when he gets home.”

Jester nodded, a little calmer but still excited. “Okay.”

“Okay. Good. Now let me get dressed,” Beau said. 

Jester turned and gave her a flirty look. Beau's face cracked into a grin and she kissed Jester, her hands traveling to the small of Jester's back where her chub folded up under the sweater. As they kissed, Beau pressed against Jester more as her hands moved further down. She was tempted to go further but pulled away. “We can fuck later, Jes. But first. Text Fjord. Tell him about the apartment.”

“Okay,” Jester said, “I will.” Jester stepped away a little, but then leaned in and muttered to Beau, “Also, are you sure you took a shower because you still smell stinky.”

Beau groaned as she pushed a giggling Jester out of the bathroom.

“Okay, okay, stinky-pants,” Jester said as she slinked out of the bathroom. Beau closed the door, grabbed her towel off her body, and took a moment to squeal inside it. Jester was the most adorable person on the planet, and though her goofy shit got annoying sometimes, she was too damn cute to be mad at.

Beau crossed the hall to her and Jester's room, putting on some warm baggy sweatpants and a thick sweater Fjord had made for her last Winter’s Crest. It was grey and red, and on the front, he had knitted “POCKET BACON” in letters that were only slightly crooked this time, and on the inside, he had sewn a vinyl pocket that she could put bacon in. The result of a long time college joke, she supposed. It made her smile when she saw it in the mirror as she tied her hair up.

The floorboards were frigid underneath Beau's bare feet -- the lack of heating and AC in this place made Jester's idea sound genius. But Beau was cautious. Someone with that nice of a condo not giving a shit about price? It gave her bad vibes.

The door creaked open, and Jester exclaimed, “Fjord!” as someone came in. Beau followed the noise out into the kitchen, where their apartment door was. Jester was hugging Fjord tight around his chest, and the contact made his green cheeks turn brownish. The two shared a kiss as Beau leaned on the wall, soaking up the happy in the room. “How was work? How was school? Did you learn anything new? Any weird customers?”

Fjord pulled away and smiled. “It's nice to see you, too, Jester.” He looked over at Beau, laughing a little at the shirt. “Evening, Beau.”

“Hey, stranger,” Beau said. “Did you get the text from Jester?”

“As a matter of fact I did,” Fjord said. Jester brushed off the snow from his shoulders, standing on tiptoe to get at the snow clinging to his grey-black hair. He looked down at Jester with those nerdy-ass heart-eyes Jester raved about and the two kissed again. They were such dorks.

Fjord slipped off his jacket and plopped it on the kitchen counter before flopping on the old couch in the living room. Beau sat next to him, and Jester curled up tight between the two, putting her legs on Beau's lap and leaning against Fjord's body. Fjord wrapped an arm around Jester's stomach, right where it would fold over to her hips, while Beau softly rubbed Jester's soft thighs.

Jester pulled out her phone, pulling up the site, showing it to Fjord. “It’s a big condo, four bedrooms, three bathrooms. The owner says money is no object and is willing to go cheap. It's a block away from Soltryce’s main building and right across the street from a really good bakery and two blocks away from a good school and three from the nearest subway station. The owner works at Soltryce, so you can maybe talk to him and maybe get to know him, you know.” Jester poked Fjord in the soft, pudgy part of his stomach and looked up at him. Fjord had been trying to get a job at Soltryce for as long as Beau could remember. 

Fjord nodded and grinned a bit, but only said, “Go on.”

Jester's big blue eyes returned to her phone. “The owner also has a goblin girl he's adopted who's currently in school. He says the main reason he's opening up to roommates is because she's lonely. They also have a cat, though, so that might be a problem for you, Fjord.”

“That's what the gods gave us allergy meds for, right?” Fjord joked. Jester giggled, Beau nodded.

“And look at them!” Jester said, pulling up a picture on her phone and showing it to Fjord. “Aren't they cute?”

The ruddy brown flush returned to Fjord's cheeks. “Yes. Very cute, indeed.” His voice was mumbly and clumsy, more likely vaguely Texan sounds than actual human speech. He glanced at Beau, who raised her eyebrows. That was his I-Have-A-Crush voice. Oh dear.

Jester was either oblivious to his nervousness or intentionally ignoring it because she leaned forward and showed Beau the phone. The owner was nice looking, Beau supposed. His red hair was braided in a complex pattern, his face was a bit sharp but at least trying to be friendly, and he was wearing what looked like a mix of elderly college professor and modern Instagram witch, with a baggy argyle shirt layered over a tunic covered in embroidered sigils. The goblin girl holding the camera was young, smiling wide, her dark hair also braided and her green skin a bit flushed. She was holding a tabby cat with blue eyes. “They're cute. He's not my type, though.”

“I mean,” Fjord shrugged, “he's a man.”

“That's true,” Beau said, handing back the phone.

“But we can still send him an email. Say hello. He says he wants to get to know us before meeting us in person.” Jester took back the phone, scrolling up the page to get the email.

Beau and Fjord both shrugged. “We probably aren't gonna get another place like that for something cheap,” said Beau. “And he works at Soltryce. Maybe he can get you a job?”

Fjord sighed. “Ain't nothing wrong with sending a message.”

Jester clapped and giggled a little before sitting up to eagerly type out an email. Beau and Fjord shared another friendly smile. At the very least, it was making her happy, and that was fine with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got more chapters! Was gonna spread them out, but that's no fun. Congrats, you got more to read!
> 
> Again, thanks to the Widomauk server for being supportive of my ideas! Beta reading was done by vanishedSchism. Find them here: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanishedSchism
> 
> Remember to keep giving kudos and comments! You guys are really cool, and seeing the hit count go up just makes me excited!


	3. A Million Reasons (But I Need A Million More)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Yasha convinces Molly to move to a new apartment.

Yasha came home after work just as the sun was starting to rise. From the bedroom down the hall, she could hear a sewing machine and faint voices coming from a speaker. Molly was still up, listening to one of their gay podcasts again. Tonight must've been a bad night for them. Yikes.

She set her motorcycle helmet and bag down on the table by the door and, with a quick brush to get the leftover snow off, Yasha put her leather jacket on its hook and walked to Molly's room. They were sitting at their desk, the sewing machine tut-tut-tutting as they carefully pulled a satiny red fabric through it. Yasha glanced at the beaded bracelet on their wrist. The they/them bracelet was still there. Okay. That hadn't changed today.

“You're home,” Molly muttered. 

“You're still up,” Yasha said. She flopped onto her bed, her black and white hair falling into her face. She stretched out her arms and back, her pale abs poking out from underneath her black shirt.

Molly nodded. Their dark purple hair was a mess, though it was held back from their face by a bright pink headband. Their foundation had worn off by now, revealing skin that was more lavender than usual, with violet circles under their eyes. Molly’s tail traced lazy circles on the ground as they worked.

“So,” Yasha said. “I was thinking we should move to a different apartment.”

Molly’s sewing slowed. “What?”

“Not like split up or anything,” Yasha added. She wouldn't want to move away from Molly. The two had known each other for years; Yasha didn't want to give that up. “Like move in with someone else.”

“Who?” Molly turned halfway to face Yasha, taking off the headband. Their messy curls fell into their eyes, and they flicked it aside with a twitch of the head.

Yasha sat up, grabbing her phone from her back pocket. She unlocked it, flicking through her recent apps -- for fuck's sake, where was it -- then found it towards the end. She pulled it up and showed Molly some of the pictures, moving closer to them. The place looked nice. A little messy, but like, aesthetically messy. Molly and Yasha’s type of messy. She got to the last picture, the one of the owner and their kid. The owner was redheaded, with braids in their hair and glasses and baggy clothes. They were posing with a small goblin girl and a puffy tabby cat.

Molly took the phone to see the picture better. “What's the price?” they asked.

“Didn't say. Said they'd rather figure it out first. But they said they're willing to go cheap if they thought we were good company.”

“Did they post a phone number?”

“Email,” Yasha said. Molly wasn't looking up from the phone. “You interested?”

Molly said nothing for a second, eyes glued on the phone. “Yeah. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is gonna be mostly NSFW and super long. If you aren't interested in Beau/Yasha sex, you can skip that one. It'll be posted tomorrow, so keep on the lookout.
> 
> Again, thanks to the Widomauk server for helping with ideas and especially to vanishedSchism (https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanishedSchism) for beta reading and all the little compliments. I really appreciate them.
> 
> Kudos and comments get me through the fic!


	4. There's An Art To Life's Distraction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Beau meets someone new at the local bar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is quite NSFW, so under 18 folks should skip this one.

The speakers at the Leaky Tap were blaring peppy indie folk music, the kind Fjord liked dancing and singing to when he was drunk. Thankfully, he was pretty much there. Beau laughed as he leaned on Jester, head nearly but not quite in her boobs. He slurred the lyrics to the song in a husky, messy voice, and Jester and Beau joined in. Gods, they needed this. It had been another tough week of work -- Beau was completely surprised none of the kids she taught at the combat center had killed each other yet. Her muscles were sore, and she was freezing beneath the loose blue top and functionally useless jacket she was wearing, but she was here and she was gonna look cute and have fun, damn it.

Speaking of cute, Beau and Jester caught a glance at each other. Gods, every time she looked into Jester’s blue eyes, she damn near died.

“So I fall in love just a little more, little more, every day with someone new,” Fjord sang, half into Jester’s shoulder. 

Beau and Jester both giggled. “Honey,” Jester said, running her fingers through Fjord’s hair softly. “You’re drunk.”

“Yeah,” said Fjord, almost in realization.

“Excuse me?” Beau said to the bartender. Fuck, she was pretty, too. Curly hair, a soft tummy showing through a tight tank top, perfect eyeliner. Why did Beau have to be surrounded by pretty women all the time? “Um. Uh...this guy,” Beau pointed to Fjord, “he needs water before he like. Dies.”

The bartender laughed (gods, it was glorious sounding, too) and nodded. “Alright. One water for the dying gentleman.” She tucked her blonde hair behind a pointed ear and went to grab some ice.

“You should ask her out!” Jester said in almost a whisper.

“She’s at work!” Beau said. “You don’t ask people out at work.” Beau felt her body get all hot and sweaty, even though the bar was tainted with the winter’s air coming from outside. 

Jester shrugged. “She likes you, though,” she teased as she took another sip from her electric-pink cocktail.

“I’m fine.” Beau returned to draining her beer, turning a bit from the bar towards the tables that were behind her. People in various states of drunkenness sat and chatted, listening to the music, shaking off the winter’s cold. It was nice. The ambient chatter mixed well with the music, the alcohol was making her feel all warm and fuzzy. It almost brought her back to her hometown, the big Winter’s Crest festivals that appeared in the town square, everyone coming together to party and drink and be merry. Beau was calm and happy. She looked over at Jester and Fjord with a smile.

“Don’t puke at the bar, Fjord!” Jester hissed. Fjord was leaning on the bar, looking paler than normal and making some ungodly noises, while Jester was trying to drag the mostly limp man out of his seat.

So much for calm and happy.

Beau helped Fjord out of his seat until he was leaning more on Jester as she brought him to the bathroom. Once they were gone, she plopped back down on her barstool and shyly asked the bartender for another beer.

“Alright,” said the woman with a courteous smile as she went to fetch it.

Beau sighed. Those Winter’s Crest festivals were always rubbish anyways.

As the bartender handed Beau another beer, she looked up at the opening door and smiled. For a moment, Beau’s mind went dead with how pretty she was. Then the woman said, “Yasha! I thought you were off tonight.”

Beau turned to see who the pretty lady was talking to and if she was brain-dead before then this woman practically put her six feet under. Tall, ridiculously tall, with long black hair that faded into white, a face that was just. Wow. Then she took off her jacket, and the shirt underneath was just tight enough to show a bit of muscle definition and -- Beau chugged another drink and hid her face before her blush gave her away.

“Yeah, it’s my day off.” Yasha leaned on the bar as the bartender cleaned up. “Molly needed to get out of the apartment, so I dragged him out here.”

“You always end up back here, Yash,” the bartender joked.

Yasha laughed slightly. Oh, my gods, it was gorgeous; low and mellow. “It’s a nice place. Plus you guys serve his favorite drink.”

“One Anne Bonny, please,” said a more masculine voice.

“And one Strongjaw ale, please,” said Yasha.

Wait a minute. Strongjaw. That’s what I’m drinking, Beau thought. Without a second thought, she bolted up and exclaimed, a bit louder than she intended, “Hey, we like the same beer!”

The bartender and Yasha both jumped, and the room went silent for a moment. Yasha chuckled and smiled, a bit awkwardly. “Uh, yeah. Yeah, we do.”

“Sorry,” Beau mouthed, as the ambiance returned and the bartender went to get the two drinks.

“That’s alright,” Yasha said with a half shrug. “I’m Yasha, by the way, and this is Mollymauk.”

“Hello!” said Mollymauk with a wave from beside Yasha. He was a tiefling, purple, with jewelry decorating his horns and a bracelet with cheap blue plastic beads on his wrist.

“I’m Beau. Like Beauregard. But shorter.”

“Oh, we know a Bo, don’t we, Yasha?” Mollymauk said.

“Yeah, yeah we did. Back in college. Though it was short for Bosun, wasn’t it?” Yasha leaned on the back of her chair with a confident swagger, one foot perched on the rung at the bottom of the stool, the other pressed against the floor beneath the bar, tilting the chair back just enough that it wasn’t teetering. Yeah, she’s queer. Thank the gods.

“Yeah, Gil’s boyfriend. Haven’t heard from them in a while.” Mollymauk took an orange drink from the bartender. “Though Gil’s probably still on parole.”

“Yeah.” Yasha took the beer from the bartender. “Thanks, Ro.” She smiled at the bartender, then raised her bottle up towards Beau. “To Gil and Bosun and all the other gays.” Yasha’s glance went right to Beau as she looked her up and down. Her foot was up on the stool cushion, her other foot was on the rung at the bottom and she was slouching like crazy. Yeah. Beau was gay.

“To the gays,” said Beau as she clinked bottles with Yasha. 

Molly and Yasha and Beau all clinked as well, then went to town on their drinks. Yasha chugged half hers, and Beau tried to do the same but was getting a little too tipsy, setting the bottle down instead. “So. You work here?”

Yasha nodded, setting aside her drink as well. “Yes, I do. I’m a bouncer here.”

“That explains the muscles,” Beau said before she could stop herself. 

With a chuckle, Yasha withdrew her buzzing phone from her pocket. “Yes it does. You can’t exactly haul drunk assholes around without ‘em.” She checked her phone, laughed a little. With an elbow, she nudged Mollymauk, who must’ve been the one texting her, and texted back with one thumb. She set the phone down, not bothering to turn it off. “What do you do?”

“I teach kids martial arts, combat magic, self-defense. All that jazz.” Beau returned to her beer.

“Really? So you got muscles, too?” Yasha raised an eyebrow.

“Hell yeah, I do!” Beau lifted up her shirt and flexed her abs.

Yasha reached forward and touched it lightly. “Damn. Nice.”

“Yeah, my girlfriend loves it.” Beau giggled a little.

Yasha pulled away. “Oh, you’re dating someone?”

“Oh, uh, um.” Beau freaked out. “Not exclusively. Like she’s dating another guy, too, and we do our own things and like. Yeah.”

“Oh!” Yasha said, the awkwardness fading. “Okay. I got it.”

“Yeah.”

“You’re still holding up your shirt.”

“Shit!” Beau pulled it back down, the warmth returning to her cheeks. “Yeah, sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. I like it.” Yasha took another swig from her bottle, keeping eye contact with Beau the whole time. Her phone buzzed on the bar. She set her bottle down and grabbed it, giggled a little, then shook her head. “So, uh….you wanna maybe come by my place?”

Beau paused. “Oh wow. Wow. Uh. Yeah. Please.”

“Alright,” Yasha said, finishing her beer. “I’ll take care of your drinks.”

“You don’t need to worry about it. My girlfriend’s got it.” Wait. Shit. “Shit, my girlfriend. Uh, Mollymauk?”

“Yeah?” Mollymauk looked up from his phone.

“Can you tell the blue tiefling who comes out of the bathroom with a half-orc that Beau went out with a girl? I don’t have a phone and I don’t want them to worry.”

Yasha gave Mollymauk a kiss on the cheek while he handed her car keys. “Give ‘em my phone number. Tell ‘em she’s alright.” She grabbed her phone, jacket, and Beau’s hand then strode out the door with confidence.

It was freezing outside and Beau pulled her jacket to cover her torso. Yasha squeezed her hand tight as she pulled her towards the parking lot.

“Our car is the really ugly one,” Yasha said, moving quickly.

Beau looked out towards the cars. There was a neon green Corolla parked at the far side of the lot. “The green one?”

“Unfortunately.” Yasha and Beau picked up the pace to get out of the snow. The two brushed the snow off of the windows, freezing their fingers, then jumped in the car. Yasha crammed herself in -- holy shit she's tall, thought Beau, noticing how her knees were by the steering wheel -- and started the car. The vents sent out a wave of cold before slowly working up to warmth.

“Feel my hands,” Beau said, taking Yasha's hand in hers. They were both wet and freezing but she would take any excuse to hold Yasha's hand.

“Fuck, you're cold,” Yasha said. They warmed up in the car, then Yasha pushed the seat back as far as she could go. It wasn't quite enough but it was decent enough for her.

Yasha pulled out of the parking lot as Beau rubbed the numbness out of her hands. Yasha drove carefully with a white-knuckle grip, and when she looked behind her as she was reversing, her shirt rode up to reveal a nice pale stomach. Beau watched her in near silence, heart thudding in her chest. 

“So is this your car?” Beau asked.

“No, it's Molly's. And no, it didn't come this way. He bought it cheap off the street. Saved up to paint it this exact fucking color. Fucking highlighter green.” Yasha chuckled. “That's Molly for you.”

“You guys are close?”

“Been friends for years. Met in college. Ever since we’ve been roommates.”

“I met my girlfriend and her boyfriend in college.” Beau stretched out her back, letting her shirt lift up again.

Yasha glanced down at Beau’s stomach for a moment, then asked, “So like...what’s up with that?”

“Up with us?” Beau thought for a minute on how to word it. “I’ve been dating Jester since junior year of college. She started dating Fjord a little after that. Fjord and I don’t date. We’re just friends. And we all are allowed to go out with other people, but we have to tell them about the others, and if it becomes a regular thing they have to meet everyone. I don’t know what else to say, really. We’ve just done it this way.”

“Ah, okay,” Yasha said. “As long as they’re cool with it, I’m fine.”

“Trust me, they’re cool with it. Jester was trying to get me to flirt with the bartender, and you’ll probably get a text from her freaking out, but, like, in a good way.”

Yasha laughed and turned into a parking lot in front of an apartment building. “Our apartment is right in front of us, so it’s not a terrible run from here to there,” she said as she parked the car. She grabbed her keys and jacket and looked over at Beau. “You ready?”

Beau had her hand on the door handle. “So ready.”

The two bolted out in the snow, and Yasha fumbled with the doorknob before getting it free. They both stumbled inside, breathing heavily and trying to brush off all the snow.

“Finally! Warmth!” Yasha exclaimed as she hung up her jacket and shook the cold from her arms.

“Yeah!” Beau put her jacket on the hook next to Yasha’s. Her shirt was short, thin, and frilly, very unlike her. The only thing that fit was the color, blue, and the fact that Jester gave it to her for her birthday. Though she had to admit, it made her look pretty good.

Beau felt Yasha’s gaze on her. She was leaning on the wall, checking out the muscles on her back and the skin just under her neck. When the two met eyes they smiled.

“So,” Beau said, pulling her feet out of the boots.

“So.” Yasha kicked off her sneakers, which were clearly soaked through. She walked over to Beau, still towering over her -- by the gods, tall girls were gorgeous -- and slipped over her shirt, revealing a tight white tank top that barely covered a black lacy bra. She looked like a freaking comic book superhero.

“Whoa,” said Beau, in awe. She reached out and rubbed Yasha’s arms, and she cracked up. Beau pulled away and yelped, “Sorry!”

Yasha pulled Beau in for a hug, leaving Beau’s face squarely above Yasha’s boobs. “I thought you were gonna grab my tits!” Yasha said with a slight snort. From hot to adorable in a few seconds. Beau might be in love now. Just a little.

“I mean if you wanna?” Beau said.

“I mean,” Yasha calmed her laugh and pulled away, keeping her arms on Beau’s shoulders. “That’s what I invited you here for.”

Beau smiled and slid her arms around Yasha’s waist, rubbing a little along her sides and back. “I hope we’ll do a little more than that.”

“We will. Just gotta get to the bedroom.”

Beau’s eyes widened with a sudden idea. “Can you carry me?”

Yasha smiled, and without a word, grabbed Beau around the waist and hauled her up and over her shoulder. Beau yelped and giggled with the suddenness. “Nice ass,” Yasha said.

“Thanks,” Beau said as Yasha turned and carried her to the bedroom. She lowered her down a little, pressed her against the wall, and let Beau’s legs wrap around her waist. The two were really closed, and Yasha’s stomach pressed against the crotch of her skinny jeans. “Fuck,” she whispered.

“Is that an order?” Yasha said with a tilt of the head.

“Maybe,” Beau said. She wrapped her arms around Yasha’s neck and leaned in and kissed her. Her lips were tacky with lipstick, but they were soft, and she tasted a bit like the Strongjaw beer they were having earlier. Yasha’s hands wandered up to Beau’s chest, and she squeezed at her tits as they made out.

When the two separated for a breath, Beau moaned a little. “Fuck,” she said, as Yasha peppered a few kisses down Beau’s neck.

Yasha smiled, then looked at Beau and stifled a laugh. “Um. I got lipstick all over you. Lemme take you to the bathroom real quick.”

Beau nodded, and Yasha lowered her down to the floor, taking her hand and leading her to the bathroom. She flicked on the light and grabbed a towel, wetting it in the sink. Beau checked her reflection, and yep, her lips and neck were smudged with black lipstick marks. She laughed a little as she looked at herself. “Still kinda hot.”

Yasha smiled and took the towel, rubbing it against Beau’s chin. It was cold, but Yasha’s touch was careful and surprisingly delicate. Her free hand held Beau’s jaw in place, and honestly she found it sexy, especially with Yasha’s slightly furrowed brow and deft touch. Yasha tilted her head to the side, revealing the lip-marked skin, and rubbed the towel along it. Drips went down Beau’s collarbone, but were quickly swiped by Yasha before they could hit the neckline of Beau’s shirt.

“There,” Yasha said. She turned around and took the towel to wipe off her lipstick, now smudged. While she was leaning forward, Beau wrapped her arms around Yasha’s waist and softly kissed along the bit of back where her tank top rode up. Yasha sighed a little, but in a good way, Beau thought, so she let her hands wander up under Yasha’s shirt to trace her stomach with her fingertips.

“I finished with the lipstick,” Yasha said, her voice soft and low. Beau backed up a little as Yasha twirled back around. She gave Beau a lipstick-free kiss on the forehead as Beau’s hands travelled to the hem of Yasha’s tank top. She lifted it up a little, then Yasha did the rest, pulling it up over her head. Beau pulled herself close to Yasha’s chest, lightly kissing right above Yasha’s bra.

Yasha’s breath tightened as she undid her bra. Beau watched as she took it off and tossed it aside, revealing two pale tits with dark nipples.

“Fuck, you’re beautiful,” Beau said, leaning forward again to wrap her arms around Yasha’s waist and just bury herself in her chest. She kissed closer to the nipple, then softly sucked at it, eliciting a slight moan from Yasha. Her hands moved towards Yasha’s jeans, and she pulled at the button and the zipper.

“Fuck me, Beau,” said Yasha.

Beau smiled and slowly kneeled down as Yasha leaned against the sink. With two fingers on each hand, Beau inched down Yasha’s jeans and underwear, revealing her pussy, crowned by a halo of black curly hair. Beau froze for a second, a bit stunned by the whole thing. She bit her lip as her eyes met Yasha’s.

Yasha traced her fingertips along Beau’s chin and jaw, moving to the back of her head before she pulled Beau in towards her pussy. Beau pressed her tongue up against it, swiping from the bottom to a quick tease at the clit before pressing more into the labia. Yasha tasted clean, with just a touch of wetness from the teasing foreplay. The smell of her pubes reminded Beau of sweat, but the hot sexy sweat that came with a night of fucking. 

“Yeah that’s it,” Yasha moaned as Beau traced up towards her clit again, pressing a bit harder and lingering a bit longer this time. She grabbed her tit with one hand as she guided Beau’s neck up with the other. Beau smiled a little and let her tongue drag under and around her clitoris while her hands stroked up at Yasha’s thighs.

Beau slowly worked up the pace of her licks and traces and flicks along Yasha’s pussy, sometimes changing the pressure around her clit’s hood or sucking her clit in or moving back down to her labia. Yasha’s ragged moans turned into, “Yes, right there,” and, “Fuck me,” and, “Keep going.” She was pulling Beau’s head closer and closer to her pussy until Beau could only breathe through her nose. Soon Yasha’s breathing raced and her comments became more frequent. “Yes, yes, fuck yes, you’re gonna make me cum, fuck, fuck, oh my gods, fuck.”

Yasha’s body began to twitch and clench as her grip became hard and tight, her finger tips digging into Beau’s scalp as she came. Once the moaning slowed, Beau pulled away, smiling like a madwoman as she grabbed the towel and wiped off her face.

“Fuck,” Yasha said, her voice all low and sexy. “Damn. I needed that. Thank you.”

“I should be thanking you,” Beau replied. 

Yasha knelt down and gently held Beau’s face in her hands before giving her a soft kiss. “I think it’s time I returned the favor,” she said. Gods, the gentle command in her voice made Beau want to melt. With tentative hands moving slowly over Beau’s clothes, Yasha scooped up Beau bridal style and carried her to her bedroom, kissing her as she did. When they arrived, she gently set her down on the mattress on her floor.

The room was really clean, almost barren. Aside from the bed there was a standing desk, and a dresser in the closet next to stacks of books and weights, both arranged largest to smallest. Beau watched the ceiling fan turn lazy circles as Yasha moved her hands up over her head. She kissed Beau along the neck, her hands moving to Beau’s tummy where her shirt rode up, slowly inching it up. The silky fabric brushed past Beau’s breasts, sending a slight shiver through them. Yasha guided the shirt over Beau’s head with a gentle but firm hand, with Beau lifting her shoulders and moving her arms as Yasha pulled off the shirt, setting it aside neatly on the floor.

Yasha kissed Beau gently on the chest, trailing down to her stomach. As she lowered herself, Yasha began to slowly undo the button on Beau’s jeans. The sound of the zipper made Beau bite her lip in anticipation. The denim slipped down Beau’s legs, and Yasha set them aside as well.

Yasha spread Beau’s legs and slipped between them, keeping her gaze up on Beau’s face while she kissed along Beau’s hips, just above the band of Beau’s underwear. She softly touched Beau’s pussy through the fabric, and it lit up like a match flame between Beau’s legs. She moaned, a bit performatively, trying to show that she liked the touch without saying a word. Immediately, Yasha responded, pressing a little harder and moving further up, now stopping her kissing to watch Beau’s reactions.

After increasing the speed and pressure, and moving more towards the clit, as Beau began to arch her back with pleasure, Yasha slowed back down to a stop to slip off Beau’s underwear, once again moving slowly and carefully moving Beau’s legs in order to pull them off.

Yasha slithered back up to Beau’s pussy. With an intense gaze up at Beau, Yasha slowly slid her tongue along Beau’s labia. Beau inhaled sharply.

“You like that?” Yasha asked.

Beau nodded. “Uh huh.”

“Then say so.”

Yasha licked again, going up with the flat of her tongue to tease Beau’s clit with the tip. Beau moaned. “That...that felt good.”

“Good.” Yasha smiled and licked again, going slowly, pressing a little harder, taking a little more time at the clit.

“Yes, yes, yes,” Beau said, arching her back.

Yasha smiled and moved up closer to Beau, tracing her tongue over and around Beau’s clit. She zig-zagged her tongue, teasing and pressing and sucking while Beau moaned and chattered, “Yes, fuck, that’s good, right there, fuck yeah, yes, yes, fuck, I’m gonna cum--”

With that, Yasha moved her attention down and away from the clit, again slowing down to a stop as Beau settled a little. This was oddly calming -- Beau’s sex with Jester was messy and passionate, all push and shove and suddenness, with Beau always dominant, always in control. But now she’s quietly given up control and let someone else take the reins. The toying and the tease and the gentle commands scratched an itch that previously wasn’t being satisfied with Jester, a desire she didn’t even know existed within her.

“Can I finger you, Beau?” Yasha asked.

“Yes, please,” said Beau.

Yasha sat up and slowly slipped her middle finger into Beau’s pussy, lightly pushing along her walls as she slid it in and out, in and out. Every so often, she’d push up with her finger, rubbing Beau’s G-spot. Beau moaned a little as she did “Is that good?” Yasha asked.

“Yeah,” said Beau.

Yasha slipped in another finger, slowly moving faster. As she did, she took her free hand and rubbed her own clit, matching the pace of her fingering.

“It feels really good,” Beau said as Yasha moaned slightly. “Can you rub my clit while you do it?”

“My hands are a little preoccupied,” said Yasha with a slight moan. “Why don’t you do it yourself?”

Beau nodded and obeyed, slipping one hand from above her head to her clitoris and rubbing. Combined with Yasha’s fingering, the sensation made her back arch and toes curl. “Fuck,” Beau moaned.

“Are you gonna cum?” Yasha asked.

Beau nodded.

Yasha’s fingers quickened. “I want you to cum,” she said, moaning.

Beau rubbed faster until her stomach began to twitch. “Shit. I’m coming. I’m coming.” She moaned more and more until her body stopped clenching. Yasha slowed down and pulled out her fingers.

“That was amazing,” said Yasha. She slipped next to Beau and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“Thanks for inviting me,” said Beau.

“No problem.”

They laid there for a while, just panting together.

“So, uh. Do you wanna maybe make this a regular thing?” Beau blushed.

Yasha smiled. “I think I’d like that.”

“And um…” Beau paused. She and Fjord had talked about dating other people other than Jester before, but she had never tried. “Do you wanna maybe go out? Like on a real date.”

Yasha thought for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah. I think I’d like that, too.”

From the bathroom, they could hear her phone buzz. Then again. Then again. Then again.

“I think that’s my girlfriend,” Beau said with a slight chuckle.

“Want to give her the news?” Yasha asked.

Beau nodded. The two got up and Yasha grabbed the phone from her jean pocket.

[unknown number]: hey!!!!!!! Are you the girl beau’s with??? This is jester, her girlfriend. Your friend at the bar told me to text you.

[unknown number]: are you guys having fun??????

[unknown number]: fjord is ok he stopped puking and is drinking lots of water

[unknown number]: we’re going home now. You’ll have to tell me all about it!!!!!!!

Yasha laughed a little seeing the texts. “I can see why you like her,” she said, handing the phone to Beau.

Beau nodded. “Yeah, I do.”

[yasha]: ummmmmmmmmmmm this is beau i met a girl and we fucked and now we’re going out maybe and im using her phone btw

“Maybe?” Yasha said, leaning her arms on Beau’s shoulders.

[unknown number] omgomgomgomg who??? When??? Where???? WE HAVE TO MEET

“When’s your next day off? I’m off Sundays.” Beau looked up at Yasha.

“Same here,” said Yasha. “This Sunday good?”

“Yeah. Wanna go to The Brimstone Brothers? They got amazing barbeque.”

Yasha gave Beau a kiss. “Sure, sounds good. Wanna meet up like...sevenish?”

“Would you mind meeting my girlfriend and her boyfriend?”

“I’d love to.”

[yasha]: i met this girl from the bar named yasha. we’re going to brimstone bros. sunday @ seven. she’s coming over after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title (and song reference) is from "Someone New" by Hozier. Also, I forgot to say this in the last two chapters, but the titles from there are from "You're My Best Friend" by Queen and "Millions" by Gerard Way.
> 
> My first smut scene! A momentous occasion.
> 
> Thanks to the Widomauk server for helping my virginal ass with the mechanics of it all, and especially to MoonyBandit (my smut hero!) for beta-reading!
> 
> When I saw the hits and kudos count go up this morning, it made me super happy. Keep em coming guys!


	5. It's Easy To Fall In Love With You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jester invites Molly over and Fjord has some feelings about that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter gets a little bit mature, but not explicit. Little eyes be warned.

Fjord combed through the shelves in the magic section of the library, hoping to get what he was looking for before Beau had to head off. While he searched, Beau chattered with Jester as quietly as she could about her new girlfriend.

“She’s like seven feet tall and muscular as fucking hell. Like, she could pick me up with no problem. But she’s also, like, so gentle and nice and she’s into me! Like how did that happen?”

“Well of course she is! Have you looked at yourself?” Jester wrapped Beau in a big hug. “You got abs of steel--” one hand went to Beau’s stomach -- “and a good face!” Jester peppered Beau’s cheek with kisses.

Fjord smiled a little as Beau giggled and said, “Jester! We’re in a library!”

“But I love you,” Jester said, giving more kisses.

“Found it!” Fjord mumbled, pulling out the book. Spells and Enchantments For Everyday Life by Blaize Orlando. Fjord wanted to do more practical studying while he was working through his Wizarding Arts degree, and apparently this book was the best one for it. It was always being borrowed, though, and Fjord didn’t have cash to fork up for a copy of his own, so finding it was like pulling teeth.

“Finally,” said Beau, separating a little from Jester. “You wanna head home now or look for something else? We got some time until I have to go.”

“Or we can hang out around here,” added Jester, still holding onto Beau’s arm.

“It’s fine. This is really the only book I wanted to grab. Plus all my notes and stuff are at home.” Fjord dug through his pocket to grab his wallet. “And you got a date with Miss Dream Girl.”

“I can’t wait for you guys to meet her. She’s really nice.” Beau and Jester started to head towards the stairs, Fjord trailing behind.

“Yeah, I know, silly, you’ve been talking about her all this time,” said Jester.

“I’m happy for you. And I’m excited to meet her.” Fjord stepped forward and opened the door for them and they headed downstairs towards the front desk. The library was one of Fjord’s favorite places. It had the smell of books and the quiet sounds of low conversations and turning pages, but it was also nice looking. The shelves were sleek and white, the walls had soft blue paint with red and green details along the ceiling and floor, and the furniture was all modern and comfy and practical. Even in the evening there was a bunch of people on their computers, reading, studying, scattered around the tables and chairs. It was a nice place.

Beau’s eyes perked up as her attention moved to a table by the audiobook section. “Hey, Mollymauk!” she said, in a stage whisper.

A purple tiefling looked up from her laptop. Her curly violet hair was held back with a bright pink headband, and her horns were decorated with gold jewelry. Her smile was a bit crooked but she had a confident air about her. Wow, she was pretty. “Hey, Beau! What are you doing here? I thought you had a date with Yasha tonight.”

“I do, but Fjord wanted to borrow a book and I wanted to help in find it.” Beau pointed over to Fjord. “Uh, Fjord, Jester, this is Mollymauk. He’s Yasha’s friend.”

“She,” Mollymauk corrected. “Right now it’s she. And you can just call me Molly.” She looked Fjord and Jester up and down, and her tail swayed behind her. The attention made his cheeks all warm.

“Oh, sorry,” Beau said, her hands fidgeting with her jacket.

“No, it’s fine,” Molly said. “My pronouns change a lot. That’s why I wear this.” She showed Beau a bracelet on her wrist. It had pink beads and the words “She/Her” spelled out. “I’ve got another two that I keep with me, and whenever my pronouns change, I change the bracelet.”

“Smart,” said Beau.

“Yeah,” Molly said, trailing off. “I believe I met you two at the bar on Friday right?” He asked Jester and Fjord.

Fjord’s mind with blank -- he hardly remembered Friday night outside of the time he spent in the bathroom -- but Jester nodded. “Yeah! You had Yasha’s phone number, didn’t you?”

“And you were the one who texted Yasha a bunch. And you,” said Mollymauk, pointing to Fjord, “were the one who was very drunk.”

“Yeah. Guess that was me.” What an introduction. 

“Yeah.” Mollymauk trailed off again, her eyes moving to the laptop. Then they went wide. “Shit, Beau, it’s almost seven.”

“Shit. Fuck, I gotta run to Brimstone’s.” She pecked Jester on the cheek, waved goodbye to Fjord and Molly, and ran out the door.

“Does she know Brimstone’s is a fifteen-minute walk away?” Molly asked.

“Knowing her, she’ll make it in five,” said Fjord. He cast a glance over at Jester. “We best be heading home, darling.”

“But what about Molly? Can’t she come with us?” asked Jester. She turned to Mollymauk and said, “Oh, Molly, you should come to our house, Fjord makes the best food ever, you would love it.”

Mollymauk paused, then asked, “Do you guys have wifi?”

“Yeah! We have wifi! I mean, it’s not really ours, it’s the old lady’s next door, she doesn’t put passwords on her internet, so we use it, but you can use it, too!” Jester barely took a breath while she spoke.

After taking a moment to think, Mollymauk sighed and closed her computer. “Eh,” she said, “I did enough anyway.”

Jester clapped and giggled while Molly slipped her computer into a laptop bag with a black background and pink and purple flowers. “We’ll have to leave soon,” Jester said, moving towards the front desk while Fjord waited for Molly, “because the bus leaves soon and it’ll be like fifteen minutes or even longer to catch the next one--”

“I have a car,” Molly said.

“Oh. Oh, that makes things a lot easier!” said Jester.

Fjord checked out the book, and the three went outside and followed Molly down to the street. Up ahead was a neon green, older looking car. The back was covered in bumper stickers, including “Gas, Grass, Or Ass?”, “This Way Up”, “My Other Ride Is Your Mom”, a bunch of political stickers, and “Guns Don’t Kill People: It’s Impossible To Be Killed By A Gun, We’re All Invincible To Bullets And It’s A Miracle”. Fjord pointed it out to Jester. “Hey Jes, take a look at that car.”

Molly swiveled around. “You got something to say about Kylrie?”

Fjord froze, but Jester snorted. “Hey look, your car matches Fjord,” said Jester, in between laughs.

Molly’s stern looked cracked as she giggled. “Yeah. Yeah, it does.”

Fjord took the front passenger seat as Jester slipped into the back. Fjord put the library book on the dashboard while he buckled himself in. As Molly fiddled with the keys, she pointed to the glove compartment. “I got cassette tapes and CDs in there. Find something you like.”

The cassettes and CDs were pretty varied. Bruce Springsteen, Death Cab For Cutie, Metallica, Marina & The Diamonds. None of the tapes really caught his fancy, but one of the CDs piqued his interest. He'd never heard of it, but it had a nice cover design, so he popped it into the CD player. It was very indie rock, and Fjord enjoyed it, though while they were travelling, Jester peppered Mollymauk with questions about her and Yasha and what they did for work and all that. Yasha was a bouncer at the Leaky Tap, Molly made clothes and had a popular Instagram account. The two had met in college through the theatre club, though Molly was an actor and Yasha was a crew member. They'd been friends and roommates since then.

“What about you guys?” Molly asked, glancing at Fjord. “What do you do?”

“I take care of the apartment. I do the cleaning and I bake.” Jester fiddled with her twisty stim toy as she spoke. “Beau teaches self-defense at the community center, and Fjord works at the Invulnerable Vagrant, but he's trying to get a job at Soltryce.”

Molly raised an eyebrow at Fjord. “What do you do at the Vagrant?”

Fjord blushed again. He didn't often talked about his job; he worked as a cashier at a sex shop. If he was lucky, whomever he was talking to assumed it was a bookstore or bar or something and he faked his way through conversation. But with the look Molly was giving him, Fjord knew she knew exactly what the Invulnerable Vagrant sold. “I'm a cashier. I do inventory and arrange displays. We have people come in to do talks and demonstrations talking about relationships, protection, some of our wares, and I help with those.”

“What do you mean by that?” Mollymauk asked.

“I set up chairs, make room for everything, make sure the speaker has what they need, all that kind of stuff.” Fjord paused, unsure if Molly would dig into whether he was involved in the actual demonstrations. He decided to gamble. “And if the speaker needs a model to show things like how to do different restraints and how to use safe words, then I’m the one they go to.”

Molly nodded. “Are the owners twins? I’ve been in there before, and I’ve only ever seen one but I heard people say it’s run by twins.”

“The Pumat-Sols are quadruplets,” Fjord said, blinking. He’d never gotten that question. “Phoenix, Passion, Promise, and Peace. There are four of them.”

“What?” Molly said. “There’s four?”

“Yeah,” said Fjord. “Phoenix works in the back most of the time. He makes the exclusive, handmade stuff. Passion does office work. Accounting, ordering, invoices. Sometimes he helps at the register if things get busy. Promise restocks and Peace works at the register.”

“There are four of them,” said Molly, still in shock.

“Turn right at the light here, Molly,” Fjord said.

The group went silent for a moment, with nothing but music for a while. It was nice. Fjord rarely had a quiet moment aside from at night if Jester was asleep or with Beau, so this was nice. He found himself staring off into space, lulled into an odd trance.

“So, what's the deal with the three of you?” Molly said to break the silence, serving some considerable side eye to Fjord.

And he was staring straight at Molly. Great.

“I date Fjord and Beau, but they don't date each other. We all can date whoever we want as long as we let everyone else know. Anything committed means everyone else has to meet the new date. Which is why we're meeting Yasha. It's not super complicated.” Jester put her stim toy away. “Take a left turn and our building is on the left. You'll have to park in guest parking because that drań next door always steals our spot.”

After they parked, everyone headed up the stairs. Fjord lagged behind a little. Damn these stairs. His knee panged with pain as he tried to keep up.

Jester unlocked the door and welcomed Molly inside. “Welcome to our little home!” 

The door opened into the living room, which was really just their thrift store couch and the trunk they used as a makeshift coffee table. “Sit down, Molly! Make yourself at home! I’ll make you some drinks.” Jester went over to the kitchen and opened the fridge. “We have a bunch of different Fairy Fizz flavors, Beau’s gross sparkling water, the beer we got from that new brewery that’s really nice, and also we have water, coffee, and tea.” Jester grabbed a pastel purple can of Fairy Fizz and cracked it open on the counter with her pink-painted fingernails.

“I’ll take a beer if you don’t mind,” said Molly. She sat down on the couch and pulled out her laptop.

Jester grabbed a bottle from the fridge as Fjord limped over. “Jes, darling, can you pass me the ice pack?”

“Oh, is your knee hurting again?” She opened the freezer and grabbed an ice pack that had been messily attached to a knee brace.

“You okay?” Molly asked as Fjord took the ice pack and sat down next to her.

“Yeah, I just banged up my knee at work last month and it still flares up when I take the stairs sometimes.” Fjord wrapped the brace around his right knee and propped it up on the couch next to him.

“Do you want me to make you some tea?” Jester asked.

“Yes please, thank you,” said Fjord.

Jester turned on the electric kettle as Molly began working on her computer. From where Fjord was sitting, all he could see on screen was a picture of her in a tunic made from a flowing moon patterned fabric and galaxy print leggings and big silver sunglasses.

“How did you mess up your knee?” Molly asked.

Fjord stifled a laugh. “It’s kind of embarrassing.”

“Oh?” Molly raised an eyebrow.

“I was restocking some dildos--”

Molly snickered. “Great start to any story.”

“--and we got one of those insane display only ones that are ridiculously expensive and I was putting it on the shelf, trying to make it look nice, but then I dropped it.”

“Oh no,” Molly said.

“Oh yes,” Fjord replied. “And as I was trying to catch it my knee buckled and slammed into the rung of the ladder. Thankfully I caught myself, but ever since my knee hurts like a motherfucker if I go up the stairs too quickly.”

“Oh my,” Molly said. “That’s amazing.”

“Yeah. All the Pumat-Sols all freaked out and took care of me as best as they could. They’re good bosses. Pay well, give me as many benefits as they can, make sure I’m always comfortable with things, all that jazz.”

Jester came over with a mug of tea and a bottle of beer, handing them to Fjord and Molly.

“Thank you, darling,” said Fjord, giving Jester a peck on the cheek.

“Aw,” Molly said. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, you guys,” Jester cooed. On the counter in the kitchen, her phone started to buzz. “Oh gówno! That must be Mom. I’ll be right back.” She grabbed her phone and drink and headed downstairs. As the door closed, Fjord could hear her speaking Polish over the phone.

“Does her mom live in Rexxentrum?” Molly asked.

“No, Nicodranus,” said Fjord, his heart panging a little. Her mom was so far away, and so busy all the time, and Jester missed her. She hadn’t visited her in a couple of years, so her calls were all she had.

“What does she do?” Molly asked. Nicodranus was a big movie-making city, so Fjord could understand her curiosity.

“She’s a porn star,” Fjord said. If he didn’t tell Molly, Jester definitely would, so he might as well get it over with now.

“Oh. Wow. That…” Molly blinked a little in shock. “That’s both surprising and completely unsurprising. Okay.”

Fjord nodded and took a sip of his tea. It was a little too hot, so he set it down. “Yep. That’s why she’s so busy all the time.”

“Ah.” Molly took a long swig from her bottle. “So you work at a sex store, and Jester’s mom works in porn...does Beau have any connections to the world of sex work?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Okay. Cool.” Molly set down her drink and went back to her work. 

After a minute of silence, Fjord picked up his drink again. “What are you doing?” he asked, not wanting to strain his neck to look.

“Updating my website with some new pieces,” Molly said. “I’ve added some new clothes to my store, and I got a bunch of pictures taken in them, so I’m posting them to the site.” She titled the laptop towards Fjord.

Oh, gods. She wore a variety of outfits in the pictures: long flowing dresses, frilly shirts and sharp pants, tunic and leggings. In every picture she looked gorgeous, her hair perfectly curled, the poses always showing off the best of her body. Fjord felt warmth both in his cheeks and between his legs, so he got up and said, “Want me to cook you some food, hon?”

Fjord expected Molly to be a bit snubbed by his curt reaction to her photos, but instead, she raised her eyebrows and said in a low, sincere voice, “I’d love that, Fjord.”

Fjord grabbed some pasta from the pantry and a pot from a cabinet by the stove. As he was filling the pot with water, Jester came back from downstairs.

“Hey, darling. Any news from your mom?” Fjord turned off the sink and put the pot on the stove.

“Fjord, what are you doing standing? You’re going to hurt yourself, you głupek.” Jester rushed over to Fjord to sit him back down on the couch.

Oh, no. Bad news. She always got snappy and overprotective when she got bad news. “Jes, Jester, I’m fine. My knee’s okay.” Fjord took off his brace. “See? I’m fine. Why don’t you sit down with Molly while I make dinner, okay?”

“Fine, but be careful!” Jester said as she sat down on the couch. She pouted a little and kept glancing over at Fjord with worry.

Fjord obeyed, keeping his weight mostly on his left leg while he worked. He whipped up some pasta with red sauce while Molly and Jester talked. Fjord caught snippets of the dialogue -- Molly showed Jester some of her clothes, the two talked about Jester’s mom and Beau and Fjord and college magic classes. When Fjord brought them their food and joined them on the couch, the two mostly carried on without him. He ate and watched the two talk. 

Meanwhile, Molly was opening up. As she talked about her days in acting classes, her mannerisms got bigger and her face expressed more and Fjord had to get up and take the dishes away before either of them noticed the bulge forming in his jeans.

At around eight-thirty, Beau and Yasha came through the door. “Guess who’s back, guys?” Beau said, with the biggest smile Fjord had ever seen plastered on her face. “Say hello to Yasha!”

Holding her hand was Yasha. Beau wasn’t kidding; she was so tall she had to duck down under the door frame to get in. Her eyes went a little wide when she saw Molly lounging on the couch, but she seemed nice enough.

Fjord and Jester both got to their feet and introduced themselves. Fjord took her and Beau’s coat for her while Jester grabbed drinks for the two.

“Molly, what are you doing here?” Yasha asked as she sat down.

“We saw her at the library before your date and invited her over,” said Jester as she opened two bottles of beer. “How did it go?”

“It was great,” said Yasha and Beau at the same time. They both dissolved into dopey smiles. “It was great,” Yasha repeated. “I’d never been to the Brimstone Brothers before but I thought it was really good.”

“Yeah, they have the best ribs in town,” said Beau. Jester handed her the bottles of beer. “Thanks, babe.” The two kissed as Jester sat down next to Fjord, taking his hand in hers and lacing their fingers together.

“Thank you, Jester,” said Yasha as Beau passed her one of the bottles. She checked the label. “Strange Brewing. Isn’t that the new brewery in town? The one by the library?”

“Yes!” Beau said, cutting off Jester as she was about to respond. “Yeah, they’re really good.”

Wait a second. “Shit,” Fjord mumbled.

“What is it, kochanie?” Jester asked, rubbing Fjord’s arm.

“I left the library book in the car,” said Fjord.

“Want to go get it?” Molly asked, sitting up.

“I mean,” Fjord said, “it took me a fucking month to get that book, so. Yeah.”

“I’ll take you,” said Molly. “Grab your coat.” She got her keys from her laptop bag and put on her shoes.

Fjord pecked Jester on the cheek before getting up and grabbing his jacket. Jester looked at him a bit indignantly. “Why not just have Molly grab it for you?”

“It’s fine, darling,” Fjord said as he slipped on his coat. “I’ve been resting it. It’ll be okay. Besides, it won’t get better if I let it stiffen up.”

“What happened to his knee?” Yasha mumbled to Beau.

“He dropped a dildo and fell down a ladder and ever since he’s had problems with it,” Jester replied.

“Yeah, what she said, more or less,” Fjord said.

“You coming?” Molly asked. She opened the door slipped out, with Fjord following her out, careful not to fuck up his knee again. Outside, it was snowing softly, and the snowflakes contrasted against Molly’s dark violet hair. 

The car’s headlights illuminated the darker corner of the parking lot, and Molly and Fjord hurried over to get to the car. Fjord grabbed the book from the dashboard and slammed the door. They stayed there for a moment, panting a little, watching the snowflakes fall.

 

“Did you leave that behind on purpose?” Molly asked. “To get us out here alone?”

“Nope,” Fjord said. “I’m just an idiot. But I can’t say I’m not complaining.”

“Really?” Molly raised an eyebrow and slowly neared Fjord. “Neither am I.”

Fjord felt himself drifting towards her. Her eyes were the color of rubies and the velvet on theatre seats, and there were specks of snow in her eyelashes. He closed his eyes, leaned forward, and kissed. Her arms moved to his shoulders, his hand to her waist. The snow fell around them. She was soft and warm and smelled like nice perfume.

“That was nice,” Molly said, her voice soft and low.

“It was.”

“I’d like it to happen again.”

“Right now or later?”

“Yes.”

“We got people waiting for us.”

Molly sighed. “That’s true. You bring your phone with you?”

They traded numbers, set up a date. The Moonbeam Cafe, Friday at seven. Then they kissed again, quicker this time, and headed back towards the apartment.

Yasha stepped out of the front door, coat already on. “I’m leaving. I’m gonna need a ride.”

“What happened?” Fjord asked.

“Jester’s crying,” Yasha said. “She just got up and went to her room out of nowhere and Beau started talking to her and she just started crying. I don’t know why.”

“Shit,” Fjord said. He waved to Molly. “See you on Friday?”

“Yeah,” said Molly as she headed downstairs.

Fjord went back up, going a little too fast this time and making his knee ache but not really caring. When he opened the door he could hear Jester crying, and Beau trying to comfort her. “I’m sorry, babe. Had I known what had happened I would’ve called it off and spent time with you. I’m so fucking sorry, Jes.”

Fjord went into Beau’s room, where Jester was sobbing on the bed while Beau held her. “What happened?”

“A lot,” said Jester.

Fjord went to his bedroom and grabbed a box of tissues in for Jester. Beau made a face and said, “Are those from your bedroom? Gross.” Fjord glared at her as Jester blew her nose and wiped her tears away.

“Come on, darling, tell us what’s wrong,” Fjord said, rubbing Jester’s back.

Jester took a deep breath. “I’ve just been feeling so lonely recently. Beau’s dating Yasha now and you’ve been spending the past hour or whatever staring at Molly--”

Beau raised an eyebrow at Fjord. “Wait, did you--”

“Not the right time, Beau,” Fjord said.

“See, this is what I’m talking about! All I have is you two right now, you’re both going on dates and I feel all alone.” Jester began crying again. Fjord and Beau both hugged Jester, rubbing her arms and back as she cried.

“We’re sorry, babe,” Beau said. “We should’ve noticed you were being left out.”

“No, no,” Jester said. “I should’ve told you. It all just happened so fast and then Mom canceled on me and--”

“Wait, what happened with your mom?” Fjord asked.

“Her mom was gonna come down for Jester’s birthday, but she canceled,” Beau said. “Something in her schedule changed and she can’t make it anymore.”

Fjord sighed. He should’ve noticed. He felt bad for not paying attention to her. “Jester, we’re sorry for not including you more. Regardless of the circumstances, we both could’ve done more to make you feel cared for. Going on, we can make arrangements to do weekly things with just us. Just the three or two of us. Okay?”

“We can do something on Friday?” Jester asked, looking up at Fjord.

“I, uh…” Fjord said. “I got a date on Friday with Molly.” Jester glared at him. “I can move it around if you’d like! You’re the most important thing to me right now.”

“Aw, thank you, Fjord.” Jester hugged him. “I love you.” She gave him a soft kiss.

“I love you, too,” Fjord said.

“I love both of you but please get off my bed before you starting fucking on it,” Beau added.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title is from "The John Wayne" by Little Green Cars.
> 
> Also, I headcanon Jester as Polish now.
> 
> Special thanks to the Widomauk server, as always, and especially to my beta reader, Clex_monkie89!
> 
> Next chapter is a short one, but it's hella soft, so be prepared.


	6. Little Darling, It Seems Like Years Since It's Been Clear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Caleb sings Nott a song.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for bullying in this one. It's a bit exaggerated because it's a dream, but I still don't want anyone getting hurt.
> 
> Don't count this as shipping guys! This is platonic and familial, not romantic in any capacity.

Nott had the bad dream again. She was caught in a hallway surrounded by people. Other kids at school, teachers, parents, volunteers. They surrounded her, jeered at her, mocked her. “Look at that goblin freak,” they said. “She’s diseased. She’s a freak. She waves her arms and cries all the time, she makes a mess when she eats.” 

She woke up with tears in her eyes and a heavy heart. Once her brain was conscious enough, Nott tried going through her reminders. You’re okay. You go to a different school now. You have friends and good teachers and Caleb. Nobody’s calling you mean things anymore. You’re safe.

But the safe feeling didn’t come. 

Nott checked the time on her alarm clock. One thirty-two. It was late but not yet too late for Caleb. She slipped out of bed and left her room, going across the living room in the dark to Caleb’s. The light shone underneath his door, and she could hear the tap-tap-tap of him typing on a laptop. “Ja, Nott?” Caleb asked in his tired voice.

Nott tried to hide the sadness in her voice as much as she could. It didn’t really work. “I had a bad dream again.”

Caleb stopped typing, got up, let Nott in. His room was the biggest in the condo, but with the stacks of books and the desk and the chair in the corner by the bookshelves, it looked much smaller. Caleb plopped down in his desk chair, and Nott crawled into his lap. “What were you doing?” she asked.

“Writing an email,” Caleb said. “To one of the potential roommates. We were talking about each other’s hours and when we get to bed and go to school or work and all that.”

Nott nodded. “Did you find any roommates you like?”

“Well, there’s one set of two that’s really interesting. The girl in that one has weird hours so she might wake you up at night, though. And there’s a set of three, but one of them is allergic to cats.”

Speaking of, Frumpkin padded through the open door, sniffing at them. Caleb and Nott both smiled. “Make room for Frumpkin, Mäuschen,” Caleb said. She flattened out her lap, and Frumpkin jumped up into it. Nott hugged the cat close as she leaned on Caleb.

“Can you sing Dad’s song?” Nott asked. One of her fathers back home used to sing an old song to her whenever she had nightmares. They had the record with it, and they’d play it after dinner while they all hung out in the living room together. It was the sound of family to her, and sometimes it was the only way she could calm down.

“Here comes the sun,” Caleb sang in his low, heavily-accented voice, tapping along to the invisible music. “Here comes the sun and I say, it’s alright.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title and song referenced: "Here Comes The Sun" by The Beatles
> 
> Kudos to the Widomauk server and to fiach_dubh for beta reading! I love you to death, and your sweetness always makes me smile.
> 
> Another shorty! Trust me, though, the next chapter is gonna be a long one, so be ready for that. I'm super excited for it.
> 
> Thanks for all the support. Five hundred hits on a fic I wrote? Whoa! You guys are amazing. Keep giving me the support!


	7. I've Always Been So Cautious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Caleb and Nott meet their new roommates.

The bakery was busy and bustling, and even though it hadn’t been long Caleb was already listening to music at his phone’s highest volume and clutching Frumpkin like his life depended on it. His eyes kept flitting to the door, where he expected Nott -- or worse, the new roommates -- to come in at any moment. In between waiting for someone to come, Caleb stared at the clock on his phone. Nott was supposed to arrive at three twenty, and the roommates were coming ten minutes after that. But as the time came closer, Caleb’s heart thudded more and more. Three eighteen. Three nineteen. Three twenty.

At three twenty-one, Nott came through the door, thank the gods. Caleb took out his headphones as she hurried over to Caleb’s table, sitting down next to him. Her uniform was badly wrinkled, and her long black hair was falling out of its braid. “Sorry I’m late, Cae. Bus was slow today,” she said, speaking in Zemnian.

Caleb nodded. “How was school today?”

“It was fun. Ysabell and I did our presentation today and we got perfect scores!” Nott said. She pulled out a brightly colored Jacob’s ladder toy and began fiddling with it, making the boards go click-click-click as they flipped around. “Well, really she did all the presenting. I was so nervous I could hardly talk, but she said I was really good anyways.”

“What class was this?” Caleb asked.

“Language Arts. We were doing a presentation on Alice In Wonderland.”

“Anything else?” Caleb asked.

“We have to read a book over the break. Maybe we could go to the bookstore after this?” Nott looked up at Caleb with a big smile that showed off her pointy teeth. “Please?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Nott flapped her hands and hugged Caleb. “Thank you, Caleb.”

Caleb smiled. Back at her old school, she was always picked on being autistic, a goblin, too smart for the class, being trans and queer. This private school was expensive, and the uniforms drove her crazy, but the kids there were smart, too, and she wasn’t considered weird for stimming or eating messily or dressing in private or giving paper hearts to girls she liked during Heartmatching Day. “You want to grab something to eat?”

“Yes, please,” Nott said. 

She and Caleb got green tea and sugar cookies. They ate a little, going over the roommate contract Caleb had printed out earlier that day after hashing it out with everyone over email. It was mostly basic rules, chore assignments, stuff like that, but since Nott had been in on the discussions so far, they had little to talk about. They sat there, dunking their cookies in their tea, listening to the chatter and the Winter’s Crest music playing softly over the speakers. Frumpkin purred on Caleb’s lap, and he was getting a little more calm.

Three twenty-eight, and in walked one of the new roommates. He was part of the group of three moving in -- the girl Caleb had been emailing sent him a picture of them all so he recognized them when they came in. He was a half-orc, fairly tall, had black-gray hair that was shaved along the sides. He and Caleb locked eyes and the guy smiled as he walked over and suddenly Caleb was blushing and shaky and his heart was racing and -- gods just stand up and pretend you’re not suddenly very, very attracted to this man.

“Afternoon,” said Fjord as Caleb and Nott both stood up. “I’m Fjord. You must be Caleb.” Gods, he had a beautiful voice, low and husky with a strong Southern drawl. He took off his gloves and extended a hand out towards Caleb.

“I’m Caleb, ja, that is me,” Caleb stammered, clutching Frumpkin with both hands. He paused awkwardly, unsure of what to do, panicking. His brain was completely blank.

“Give me the cat, Caleb,” Nott said. She grabbed the cat from Caleb’s arms.

Caleb shook Fjord’s hand after brushing off the cat hair. Fjord held his hand firmly, but his hands was warm and very soft -- Gods, Caleb, don’t think of his hands.

“Nervous?” Fjord asked, eyebrows raised as he let go of Caleb’s hand. He had scars on his face, but they added to the rugged look of his.

“Ja, can’t you tell?” Caleb said with a laugh.

Fjord turned towards Nott as he started to take off his jacket. “And you must be Nott,” he said, slipping an arm out and shaking her hand.

“Yeah,” Nott said. “Sorry about Caleb. I think you might’ve broken him.”

Fjord blushed a little, but he smiled and glanced at Caleb. “Well, that is a bit of what I do.” He took off his jacket, revealing a tight black henley shirt that showed off his muscles perfectly. Caleb’s mind went completely blank, and it wasn’t until both Fjord and Nott were seated that he remembered he should probably do something.

“Would you like me to buy you something?” Caleb asked, reaching for his wallet.

“I wouldn’t complain,” Fjord said, raising an eyebrow. “How about some black tea, please? No sugar, just milk. Thank you.”

Caleb nodded and went to the counter. Right when his back was turned, Fjord muttered, “Does he always act like this?”

“Only around the boys he thinks are pretty,” Nott murmured back.

“Verräter,” Caleb muttered. He ordered the tea, watched Fjord and Nott talk. She was showing him her Jacob’s ladder, and he was figuring out how it worked. The boards went click-click-click, and his face lit up with a smile and wide eyes.

Caleb didn’t fall in love often. But right then he did -- just a little. Then the barista handed him the tea and he remembered Fjord had a girlfriend and probably wasn’t interested in much more than casual flirtation. He rebuilt his walls and held his breath as he returned to the table.

“Here’s your tea,” Caleb said, handing Fjord the cup.

“Why, thank you, honey,” Fjord said with a smile. Gods, Caleb was trying his damnedest but he was still breathtaking.

They exchanged more pleasantries, small talk questions. “Jes told me you work at Soltryce,” Fjord said in between sips.

“Yes,” Caleb said. “I do custom spells for people. They send in things they need charmed and I charm them. They let me work from home because I can’t stand the offices. They’re so busy, and I could never focus when I worked there.”

“But they can’t let him go because he’s too good at his job,” added Nott.

Caleb blushed slightly. “I suppose so. I’m one of the few who provide this sort of service, so I’ll admit they’re pretty kind to me.”

“I’m actually interested in applying there,” Fjord said, a little shyer now that the conversation had mellowed.

“Ah,” Caleb said. He sipped his tea. It was getting cold. “Yeah, it’s hard. It’s hard to get a job anywhere. They look for a very particular brand of magic.”

“I know,” Fjord said. “I’m studying for my master’s in Wizardry. Hoping that might give me an edge.”

“It’s not the resume they look at,” Caleb said. “I graduated from a terrible college with a bullshit degree I got two years late. They’re looking at what you can do and if it fits their little box. Mine happened to fit perfectly. It might not happen to you.” Caleb adjusted his glasses. “I don’t want to prevent you from trying. I just want to warn you in case you don’t make the cut.”

Fjord nodded. “I appreciate that. I’m not quitting my day job yet.”

Someone slammed open the door and yelled, “I’m here!” Caleb jumped, spilling his tea onto his papers. A tan-skinned girl in a gi and a black belt bolted inside. “I am fucking here.” She slumped into a chair, letting her gym bag drop from her shoulder to the floor.

“You okay, stranger?” Fjord asked.

The girl took a deep breath. “We had to jam in two lessons in one day because last session it took way too long for people to figure out this one damn move and just…” She groaned and rubbed her eyes and ran her fingers over her messy, sweaty black hair.. “Fuck. I’m sorry for being late. And also a huge ass mess.” She reached over the table, extending a hand to Caleb. “I’m Beauregard, by the way.”

Caleb shook her hand. “Caleb.”

Beau turned to Nott, and this time it was her turn to be nervous. “Hey, kiddo. I’m Beau.”

“I’m Nott,” Nott replied, very quietly. Her cheeks darkened as she nervously shook Beau’s hand. 

Beau nodded. “It’s nice to meet you, kiddo.” She turned to Fjord, propping her foot on the seat of her chair and propping her chin on her knee. “Where’s Jester?”

“No idea.” Fjord checked his phone. “No texts from her. I’ll let her know we’re waiting for her.”

“It’s okay,” said Caleb. “We’re waiting for the other two.”

“Oh shit, yeah,” said Beau. “There are more people moving in.”

“No shit, Sherlock,” said Fjord.

Beau stuck her tongue out at Fjord, then turned to Caleb. “Seriously, though, who is it?”

“They’re walking through the door right now,” said Caleb. A purple-skinned tiefling and a tall, pale aasimar walked in from the snow. The aasimar had a strong face and dark, monochromatic makeup, while the tiefling has long purple curls and deep red eyes and curled horns decorated with dangling golden jewelry and a peacock tattoo that covered one side of his graceful neck and gods was he going to be attracted to all of the people moving in?

Fjord and Beau were equally shocked, but for completely different reasons. Fjord was wide-eyed and breathing hard, while Beau was groaning, head in her hands. The tiefling and aasimar saw them, and had similar expressions of surprise -- the tiefling laughed and said, “Rexxentrum is a small fucking world,” while the aasimar sighed and smiled.

“Do you know each other?” Caleb asked. 

“We're dating,” Fjord said. “I'm dating Mollymauk, and Beau is dating Yasha.”

The tiefling sat down in between Fjord and Caleb. He must've been Mollymauk, because he draped an arm over Fjord's shoulders and kissed his cheek and jaw. “Yes, I am dating this handsome man.” He extended a hand to Caleb. “But I haven't met this handsome man. You must be Caleb. I'm Molly.”

Caleb shook his hand carefully. Oh dear. This was gonna be interesting.

Meanwhile, Nott was having her own breakdown. Yasha sat down next to her, and her eyes went wide and her skin flushed. She watched carefully as Yasha and Beau kissed softly. Beau joked, “I know we said we wouldn't be U-Haul lesbians, but it appears fate has decided otherwise,” and Nott choked on the dregs of her tea.

“Uh, who are we missing?” Caleb asked, hoping to distract from his and Nott’s nervousness.

“Jester,” said Fjord. “She's on her way. Accidentally slept in and missed the bus.” He sighed a little. “She's gonna be...entertained by this.”

“Will it be okay?” Yasha asked. “We can figure something out if she's uncomfortable with it.”

“We'll talk to her about it. Thank you, Yasha. I appreciate it.” Fjord smiled sweetly. His voice was warm and genuine and damn it, there went Caleb's heart again. “We’ve been trying to work with her on communicating and compersion these past few weeks, and she’s been doing well. I’m just a little worried it’ll be too sudden.”

“What’s compersion?” Nott asked.

Beau answered, “Compersion is like, the opposite of jealousy.”

“Yeah,” Fjord said. “It’s where you get joy from watching someone else be happy. In this case, she’s finding joy when she sees Beau and me with our other partners.”

“Oh. So you’re both dating Jester?” Nott asked.

“We sure are, hon,” Fjord said.

“I didn’t know you could do that,” said Nott.

“Well, not everyone can. It takes a lot of time, patience, communication. It’s hard opening yourself up to everyone’s feelings, and you can make a lot of mistakes. It’s scary. But it’s also really fulfilling.” He smiled at Mollymauk. “I’ve never been happier.”

“Aw,” Mollymauk said. The two kissed, and Caleb felt a pang of jealousy.

As the two pulled away, Jester came in. She was made up nicely, with blue lipstick that matched her hair and a large puffy pink coat. Like Mollymauk and Yasha before her, she stared at them in shock. Then she gave them a beaming smile and said, “Hi guys, I didn’t know you got the condo, too!” She walked over and hugged Yasha and Mollymauk, who both seemed surprised. “If I had known you guys were coming I wouldn’t have worried so much about how I looked!” She laughed, then hugged Caleb, who once again felt his cheeks flush. “Except for you, Caleb. I still have to look pretty for you!”

“You look wonderful, darling,” said Fjord.

“Amen,” said Beau.

“Yes, you look very lovely,” Caleb said. He glanced at Nott. They looked eyes and shared in the queer panic for moment.

“While I’m up, would you like me to get you guys anything? It’s my treat! My mom sent me a bunch of money for Winter’s Crest.” Jester got out her wallet.

“I can pay for it,” Caleb said.

But, Jester insisted. “No, I insist. What do you guys want?”

Nott and Caleb asked for more tea. Yasha got black coffee. Fjord and Beau both asked for black tea with milk. Molly wanted an iced coffee and some almond cookies. Jester went over to get them. She returned with a bunch of drinks and a tray of various pastries, including donuts, danishes, and cookies. She grabbed a donut and began to munch on it as she sat between Beau and Fjord, giving each of them a kiss.

While they ate and drank, the seven all talked about the contract, reading over it, deliberating over various parts of it. Caleb’s mind kept wandering to various...other things. Gods, it was going to be difficult living with these people if he didn’t stop this soon. The only thing he had going for his was that they were all dating each other, so at least maybe they’d realize he wasn’t worth their time and stay distant.

So, it was decided. Jester was more than willing to handle the everyday chores. Fjord loved to cook, Molly knew his way around a laundry machine, Yasha could help with shopping and mix drinks. Beau had no idea what to do at first, but then her eyes went wide. “I could organize shit.”

“What kind of shit, exactly?” Caleb asked.

“Like movie nights and that sort of stuff.”

Caleb shrugged. She might as well. He added that next to her name on the contract.

By the time they finished, the sun was starting to set. Snow fell gently in the street outside. The group finished their drinks and brought their cups and plates back to the counter. Caleb left a large tip in the jar by the cash register (“Get your bakers some dough!” was written on the front in permanent-marker black). Outside, he shook all their hands and said, “Well, it was nice meeting you, but Nott and I best be heading off.”

“Where are you going?” Jester asked.

“Day & Night Bookstore,” said Caleb. “Nott wanted to buy a book after the meeting.” He ruffled her hair.

“You guys can come, too, though,” Nott added.

Damn it, Nott. Caleb smiled at the others, but didn’t say anything.

“I think to could be fun,” said Jester. “We can hang out, get to know each other better. And besides, you can find more magic books, Fjord.”

“Sounds like a plan, so long as Caleb’s okay with it,” said Fjord.

The Day & Night Bookstore was down the street. It was a chain, and the clerks gave him trouble every time he brought in Frumpkin, but it was the closest bookstore, and since it was open twenty-four hours, he didn’t have to worry about closing times. The group walked through the falling snow. Jester twirled and stuck out her tongue to catch the snowflakes. Caleb couldn’t help but smile at her. He knew it couldn’t last -- she had partners, after all -- but he appreciated the moment, letting the joy in her face bring a smile to his.

Caleb opened the door to the shop, and everyone walked him, thanking him. Caleb set down Frumpkin, scratching his head and muttering an apology in Zemnian before following everyone inside.

The store was warm and well-lit, with tables of books on display and neatly arranged shelves. A couple of clerks and shoppers milled about. The group diffused, wandering to different sections of the store. Caleb followed Nott to the children’s section, a corner of the store with brightly colored bean bags and a mural with an owl wearing glasses. She picked a somewhat thick book which a rough cover and pretty illustrations and plopped down in the beanbag pile to start reading it.

Caleb wandered off to the magic section, an area with thick tomes and colorful covers. Fjord was looking at a shelf of kitchen witchery books, while Molly looked at the sets of tarot cards.

“You reads cards?” Caleb asked.

Molly nodded. “I used to. Might pick it up again, now that I’ll have people to read for. I’m not the best at interpreting the cards for myself.”

“Maybe you can show me,” said Fjord. “I took some courses in divination, but I never learned on my own.”

“I’d love to, babe,” Molly said, smiling warmly at Fjord, moving closer like they were about to kiss. Caleb blushed and slunk away from them, giving them their privacy.

Jester was looking through the romance section, combing through the various books with illustrated covers with women of various races wearing low cut dresses holding people in flowing shirts with stern faces. She held one with a blue-skinned tiefling on the cover, who was wrapped in the arms of a muscular man with long red hair. Jester laughed and showed Caleb the cover. “Look, it’s us, Caleb!”

Caleb blushed, biting back a flirtatious response and just nodding awkwardly. “Um, if you want me to buy that for you, I can.”

“You don’t have to. I have money.”

“You paid for drinks, I pay for books. Deal?” Caleb got out his wallet.

“Fine, but only because it’s you,” said Jester. She lightly prodded Caleb with the book.

Everyone had finished exploring, and Caleb called Nott up so he could pay for her book. He also bought Molly a new set of tarot cards, Fjord a magical cookbook, and Beau a book about yoga. “Consider it a Winter’s Crest present from me,” he insisted. He hating making people pay for things when he had money to spare. He handed everyone their books as they made their way back outside.

Frumpkin meowed at him indignantly, and Caleb picked him up. “It was lovely meeting you all,” Caleb said, “but I think it’s time to turn in. I’ll see you all soon. Happy Winter’s Crest.”

“Happy Winter’s Crest!” cheered Molly as he led the others away.

Caleb waved and walked away, with Nott by his side clutching her book close to her chest.

“I like them,” Nott said. “I think this was a wonderful idea.”

“Ja,” said Caleb. He wasn’t entirely sure about that part. But he did know this was going to be interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There have been so many hits on this fic! Thanks, you guys!
> 
> The title is from "Anxiety" by Ladyhawke.
> 
> Thanks to the Widomauk server! And seriously, thanks to y'all for liking my fic so much!


	8. So Tell Me Right Now, You Think You're Ready For It?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the gang has some honest talks over dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place a few weeks after the previous chapter.

Molly sat cross-legged on the couch while they ate the sandwich Fjord made, careful not to get it on the sweater Fjord gave them for Winter’s Crest. They were exhausted and sore; lugging around furniture and boxes all day was far from their forte. But the view through the floor-to-ceiling window was spectacular, so as the others spoke about what had been moved, what needed to be unpacked or relocated, Molly spaced out and stared at the mid-afternoon sun glinting off the buildings below.

“Where’s Caleb?” Jester asked, and Molly’s focus faded back to the conversation. “He knows we have food, right?”

“He’s helping you guys unpack,” Nott said. “He said he’ll come downstairs eventually.”

And as the tieflings say, speak of the devil and he shall appear. Caleb closed the door to one of the bedrooms and quickly came down the stairs, a blush clear on his face. He said nothing to the others as he passed them to grab food from the kitchen. “Thank you for the meal, Fjord,” he said, taking his plate to his study.

“You’re welcome, hon,” Fjord said.

“Are you okay?” Beau asked.

Caleb stopped by the door. He turned towards them, but kept his eyes on the floor. “I was unpacking Fjord’s books and I came upon a box that was...mislabelled. Containing some very...personal things.”

Fjord’s brow furrowed, but then his eyes widened and his green skin went darker. “I’ll take care of that,” he said, setting down his plate and heading upstairs.

“I did take care of the books, so you don’t have to worry about that,” Caleb said as he ducked into the room.

“Thank you!” Fjord replied from the stairs before heading back up.

“Does he do stuff like this a lot?” Molly asked Nott.

Nott shrugged. “I mean, not this specifically, but he does spend a lot of time working in his rooms. I’m hoping it gets better as you guys settle in. It’s kind of sad seeing him shut himself in all the time.”

Everyone nodded. It was sad. Caleb seemed to be a decent guy. Handsome, certainly. And if he managed to get into Soltryce, he had to be smart. But he also seemed really sad. He reminded Molly of themself, almost, during that blurry time between his junior year of college and two years ago. Molly wouldn’t put their worst enemy through that; Caleb certainly didn’t deserve it.

After lunch, they resumed unpacking. Molly wanted to get their sewing shit out and ready to use. They bounced between boxes -- opening one box with their thread holder, but then they had to get the thread out of its box and set that up, then finding the needles and having to find a spot to put those away, then realizing this one nook was perfect for setting up their scrap pile, so they had to get that out -- then someone knocked on the door and they realize it was time for dinner.

Fjord made mac and cheese with hot dogs in it. “I feel like a college student again,” said Beau, mouth half full.

“We were ramen people,” Yasha replied. She was sitting on the floor, legs outstretched, back pressed against Beau’s knees. “You can dump anything in that shit, and you’re golden.”

“Back at home, we had rice,” Nott said. “We ate it all the time.”

“Hey, has Caleb come out of his room yet?” Molly asked.

“No,” Nott said. “He does that a lot. He doesn’t like being disturbed when he’s working.”

“What does he do?” Beau asked.

“He does customized enchantments for people. They send in their stuff to Soltryce and they get it to him and he does his magic and sends it back. He’s very good at it.” Nott shoved a large forkful of pasta in her mouth.

“It can’t be good for him, though,” Jester said, eating a chocolate granola bar, “sitting in his room all day and not talking.”

“Well, that’s one of the reasons you guys are here,” Nott said. “He spends so much time working that it gets pretty lonely. And you’re right, it really isn’t good for him. But it’s hard to get him to socialize. He’s pretty closed off.”

“What’s his damage?” Beau asked.

Nott pulled her arms and legs close, letting her fork slip down to her plate. “I’m not supposed to say.”

“Sorry I asked,” said Beau sincerely. She scooted over to Nott and gave her a half hug.

Nott smiled and hugged her back. “I’m glad you guys are here. It’s nice being around people again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So many good comments! Thank you, guys.
> 
> Again, thanks Widomauk server for being amazing and validating.
> 
> Title is from "Ready To Go (Get Me Out Of My Mind)" by Panic! at the Disco.
> 
> Love you guys! Keep the comments coming!

**Author's Note:**

> Title of the fic and chapter one are from "In The Middle" by dodie.
> 
> Shout out to the widomauk server for helping me out with this! Especially to CodeSculptor for beta-reading the first chapter.
> 
> I was originally gonna post a really long chapter, but I'm gonna break it up into littler chapters.
> 
> Remember, comments and kudos keeps me going!
> 
> Love ya!


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